"So, what are we going to?"

Alex Harcourt leapt into the driver's side of the ambulance, turning the key in the ignition as he switched on the center screen with his other hand.

"43 year old male, abdo pain" he recited to his partner, Tom Fletcher. The two men had been working together for about eighteen months now, and they had just been transferred to London together a few weeks ago when Alex completed his internship. Being fairly close in age - only separated by about five years - and sharing very similar interests meant that they got on famously, and the service didn't see the point in separating them (seeing as they were both being transferred to the new station).

Reading the case details on the screen, Tom raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Down at the theatre, hey? Fancy going to see a show?" he teased his colleague, getting a roll of the eyes in response.

Chuckling at his mate's antics, Tom suddenly had a flash of clarity as he re-read the case details.

"Wait a second; isn't that the theatre where the Britain's Got Talent auditions are happening this afternoon?"

Alex - having stopped the ambulance at a set of lights - took a glance at the screen, frowning when he realised that his partner was right.

"Hm: one of the acts has probably got a stomach ache thinking about standing up and performing in front of Mr Cowell" Tom mused, teasing his friend - he knew how much Alex loved watching BGT, and he took the mickey out of him for it at every possible opportunity.

Alex shook his head in amusement, foot stepping down on the accelerator as the light turned green.

Thanks to the non-emergent nature of the case (meaning they didn't drive with their lights or sirens going), it took them around fifteen minutes to navigate through the afternoon traffic and pull up at the back of the theatre.

"Now Lex, when we get inside, try to keep yourself under control" Tom jibed, earning himself a playful kick on the shin as Alex passed him the monitor and main kit.

"Whatever" he retorted, sticking his tongue out maturely - causing his partner to laugh heartily.

Once they walked through the theatre's doors, however, they were completely professional - leaving their joviality and teasing back in the truck and focusing on the job ahead.

*****

(16 minutes earlier)

At the sound of Dec's scream, Ant was immediately by his friend's side - panic threatening to let loose a scream of his own.

He didn't like what he saw: Dec's face was screwed up in pain, mouth open and harsh pants splitting the silence that had settled since he had screamed. His body was twisting in all sorts of ways in an attempt to relieve the agonising pain in his abdomen, and every other breath was a whimpering plea for the pain to be taken away.

Ant swore he had never felt more helpless in his life.

He reached out an put a hand on each of Dec's quivering shoulders, bending his head closer and murmuring soft words of comfort in his ear - although he honestly doubted if they got through.

"Is he alright?" Amanda asked warily, not quite sure what to make of the sight in front of her.

"What does it look like?!" Ant growled back incredulously, sending her a glare.

"Ant-" Simon began, taking a step towards them cautiously.

Biting his lip, Ant realised his mistake, and he sent an apologetic glance up to Amanda - who smiled sympathetically, not blaming him for snapping at her.

Ant breathed a private sigh of relief, still making a mental note to properly apologise later.

"Anth?" Dec's frightened whimper brought Ant's attention back to his friend.

"Shh, it's alright kidda, I'm here. We're gonna get you some help" he soothed, trying his best to remain in control. "Just try and stay calm for us, okay?"

"Anth, it hurts" Dec whined, sounding like he was nearly about to cry. Ant's heart broke at the pain and fear in his friend's voice, and he instinctively tightened his grip on the trembling shoulders.

Dec let out a choked breath and lay his body down on the floor, resting his head in Ant's lap as he curled up tightly. Ant shifted a little so they would be more comfortable (if that could be possible in Dec's case) and started unconsciously rubbing Dec's shaking back.

"I'll get the medic" David announced - somehow appearing calm - as he quickly stood and made his way to the door.

Ant shook his head frantically - they didn't have time for that.

"Forget the medic, just call an ambulance!" he exclaimed, fear raising the pitch of his voice slightly.

Alesha took out her phone and immediately dialed the emergency number, holding it up to her ear with a tense and worried expression on her face. Simon, David and Amanda all stood back, watching the scene unfold before them in shocked silence.

Stephen stood off to the side, horror and fear battling for his expression. Shaky hands reached up and ran through his hair - his breathing steadily getting more erratic.

What the hell have I done?! were the accusatory words he kept repeating inside his head, unable to comprehend the scene in front of him.

I did this. Oh God, I've hurt him!

"Dec, look mate, I-"

Stephen quickly fell silent at a look from Ant - he could feel the accusation radiating from the pair of them.

Of course, there was no such emotion coming from either of the boys: Ant was actually starting to get concerned for their other friend, especially at the way he'd backed away slowly and was clearly on the edge of a serious freak out.

"Mullers, get back over here" he ordered gruffly, but kindly.

Stephen quickly obliged; crouching back down next to them, although he was refusing to meet their eyes.

Ant sighed and used a free foot to give Stephen's knee a kick.

"Oi. Stop it" he growled fiercely, not wanting his friend to blame himself any more than he clearly already was.

Biting his lip, Stephen finally raised his head - and Ant was taken aback at the look in his eyes; he didn't think he'd ever seen someone look so heartbreakingly guilty.

"But I-" he started, but Ant silenced him once more.

"Stephen, stop. You had nothing to do with this, alright?" he assured firmly, eyes staring right into Stephen's.

Stephen looked ready to protest when Dec's weak voice interrupted him.

"Steve, I've been having these pains since last night, so it wasn't anything to do with you" his eyes opened briefly and - although full of pain - they were also brimming with sympathy and understanding.

How the hell he'd ended up working with two of the best guys in TV, Stephen would never know.

"Still, I'm sorry mate" he still felt the need to apologise for indirectly causing his friend so much pain.

This time, the foot aimed at his leg came from Dec, although the movement was quickly halted by another pained hiss.

Trying his hardest to relieve the horrendous pain, Dec started to curl up into the foetal position, resting his head back in Ant's lap and whimpering occasionally.

Ant and Stephen shared a look above their friend's head, both as worried as each other now.

"That ambulance better hurry up" Ant muttered fretfully, watching helplessly as Dec's body continued to contort in his lap in an attempt to escape the pain.

*****

As Tom and Alex walked into the theatre, they were greeted by a security guard wearing a BGT hoodie, who gestured for them to follow him upstairs.

They followed wordlessly, both of their minds busy with what they might find when they got to the scene. Tom - as primary treating officer - was running through all his questions and assessments in his head, something he'd picked up years ago as a student, and it helped him to calm his nerves before walking into a job.

After being in the job for seven years, he did it more out of habit than anything else now.

The security guard opened the door into a room and stood back to let them through. Immediately, Tom felt the already high pressure increase.

Figurative pressure, of course, given where they had just walked into.

Even though he wasn't as avid a viewer of BGT as Alex was, Tom was still very aware of exactly who was standing in the room, and who their patient was.

"Well, fancy seeing you two here" he greeted the pair, sounding pleasantly surprised.

Ant glanced up, recognition flashing in his eyes followed by the briefest flicker of relief.

"Hullo....uh, Tom, wasn't it?" he returned the greeting with a tight smile.

Tom nodded and placed his kits down on the carpet, before kneeling next to Dec - who also seemed to recognise him, although his memories of the last time they had met were rather hazy, given that he had been pretty heavily concussed and up to his neck on morphine following an accident during filming.

"What a way to meet again, hey?" Tom mused, taking Dec's wrist in his hand and checking his pulse rate.

That earned him a strained chuckle from his patient, and the atmosphere immediately felt a bit more relaxed.

"Right, what's happening?" he asked, keen to get on with his assessment.

"Stomach. Hurts." Dec answered haltingly, grimacing as another intense wave of pain rippled through his abdomen.

"Where abouts does it hurt?" Tom questioned, as Alex began getting his vitals for him.

Dec raised a shaky hand and placed it over the lower part of his right side.

"Just above your hip?" Tom clarified, to a nod.

"Started in the middle this morning though" Dec weakly added, attempting to curl in on himself as the pain slowly intensified.

"Have you been feeling nauseous or vomited at all?" Tom continued, glancing at Alex as he passed over the first lot of vitals on his notepad.

Dec nodded, and Ant added "last threw up about twenty minutes ago".

Tom bit his lip, a suspicion beginning to form in his mind.

"Alright. Dec, what I'm going to do is I'm going to press down on your stomach - yes, where it's sore - and I want you to tell me what hurts more" Tom explained, shifting over just a little.

"What hurts more?" Dec repeated, a bit confused at what the medic was going to do.

"If me pressing down on your stomach hurts more, or if it hurts more when I let go" Tom elaborated, gently using his hands to coax Dec to uncurl - a surprisingly difficult task, given just how tense he was.

"I know it hurts, Dec, but I need you to lie flat for me" he encouraged, wincing internally as a choked hiss broke through his patient's clenched teeth. Ant tried to help by wrapping his arms around Dec's chest and gently guiding him back into his lap, rubbing his friend's arm in a desperate attempt to provide some comfort.

Deciding just to get this over with nice and quickly, Tom pressed down on Dec's abdomen - just above his right hip. This got a groan and another hiss as a response, but the response when he released the pressure was far more telling.

As his hand released the pressure, Dec gave a pained scream through a tightly clenched jaw.

Pulling back, a diagnosis was quickly forming in Tom's head.

Severe abdominal pain starting in the umbilical region before moving to the right lower quadrant? Check.

Low-grade fever that was starting to rise rapidly if the worried look Alex was giving him as he removed the thermometer meant anything? Check.

Nausea and vomiting? Check.

Rebound tenderness? Definite check.

The result? Suspected acute appendicitis.

And if the swelling in Dec's abdomen was anything to go by, said appendix was about to burst.

They needed to go. Now.

*****

TBC.....

*****